Build your Cocktail Box

The Cosmopolitan is a modern classic. Many believe it to be created by Cheryl Cook in the 1980s. The Martini Queen of South Beach wanted to give her signature drink a twist - and a colour - that would appeal to women. Well, it worked The glamorous Cosmo found fame on Sex and the City. Having said all that...a similar recipe appears in Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars 1903-1933. A modern Martini? Or a classic reinvented? It’s your bar... you decide.

It’s winter. An Alpine chalet and an open fire. NIO Cocktails Head Mixologist Patrick Pistolesi is in the mood for a gin-based drink before dinner. Something a little different. Something unexpected. The answer is simple. With the permission of the bartender, Patrick goes ahead and creates a perfectly perfumed signature cocktail for the curious gin lover. The Gin Proved is equally at home on a snow-covered slope as it is on a sun-soaked beach.

It is the end of the 19th century. The US and Spain are at war. US vessel The Maine sinks off the coast of Havana. One of the survivors reaches the shore. Thank goodness. Because he washes up in a village called...Daiquiri. Shipwrecks tend to give you a thirst and so he heads to the local bar. Straight rum seems a little strong. He adds lime juice. Too tart. He adds sugar. Perfect. The Daiquiri is made to drink cold and clean. A white sandy Cuban beach is optional.